36. Genetic Modification in the Bible

One hears much these days about GM crops. Some say that it is a good invention because it saves the farmer from having to use poisonous sprays to deal with predatorial insects and diseases, but others say that it is a dangerous departure from that which is “normal,” and will eventually change the very metabolism of the human organism, as well as afflicting the environment in respect of various life-forms.

We also hear quite a lot about the AIDS virus, which came into this world in 1980, and genetically modifies the human genome, so that it cannot be deleted. In this respect it differs from other known viruses. The DNA is thereby modified so that it replicates itself down through generations. There are now some 40,000,000 AIDS sufferers in the world.

In these two examples, (and there are others) something happens to abrogate two of God’s laws, first the law relating to all life-forms breeding “after their kind”, (Gen.1:11,24) and secondly, the law forbidding any form of “mixture.” (Lev.19:19, Deut.22:9)

But in this article we should initially like to investigate something quite ancient, but which our Lord also spoke about concerning “the last days.” The topic is that of the fallen angels who left heaven to co-habit with women before the flood. And the Lord said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son ofMan.” (Matthew 24:37)

We ask the question, “What is the possibility of fallen angels interfering with the earth in our present day? And if the answer to that question is in the affirmative, then what nefarious purpose would they have in mind for such intervention?”

We are aware that there are two contradictory opinions about the words in Genesis 6:2-4. Some say that the “sons of God” were angels; other say that they were of the godly line of Seth. We shall have to stop for a moment to investigate these two opinions.

Let us first of all consider the “Seth” theory, which is found in a good number of Bible commentaries, and espoused by well-known expositors. However, consider the following points.

At no time, before the Flood or after, has God destroyed or threatened to destroy the human race for the sin of “mixed marriages.”

If by “sons of God” is meant “sons of Seth,” then only the sons of Seth engaged in mixed marriages, and not the daughters. And only the daughters of Cain were involved, and not the sons. And another strange assumption is implied: that only the sons of Seth were godly, and only the daughters of Cain were evil. There is no logic in such a theory.

But the record could not be clearer: “all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” (Genesis 6:12). At the time of the flood we read that Noah was “perfect in his generation.” Genesis 6:9. What, then, does the Bible mean by calling him “perfect”? The Hebrew word is “tamim” and comes from the root word “taman.” This means “without blemish” as in Exodus 12:5, 29:1, Leviticus 1:3. Just as the sacrificial lamb had to be without any physical blemish, so Noah’s perfection. In its primary meaning, it refers not to any moral or spiritual quality, but to physical purity. Noah was uncontaminated by the alien invaders. He alone had preserved the pedigree and kept it pure, in spite of prevailing corruption brought about by the fallen angels.

Furthermore, the expression “sons of God” was never used in the Old Testament for other than heavenly beings. God would speak about His “sons”, or His “children”, within Israel, but in each case it is clear what is meant. But the definitive expression “Sons of God” appears only here and in Job, where it relates to the day of creation. It is only after the resurrection that we begin to read about human beings becoming “sons of God” by faith.

Finally, the “Seth” theory is mainly of recent origin. In all the early writings, we find mention of the sons of God being angels, or watchers from heaven. The Jewish fathers all interpreted it in terms of angels. And of the early Christian fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Tertullian, Lactantius, Eusebius, and Ambrose are amongst those who spoke about angels coming down from heaven. We might well add Philo (De Gigantibus, pp. 58-60) and Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 1.3.1.) to this list.

So much for the evidence against the Sethite theory, what about the affirmative evidence for the angelic theory?

First of all, the preponderance of witnesses from ancient writings, who spoke about angels descending from heaven, as mentioned above.

Next, the outcome of the union between angels and human women. Descriptions of the progeny indicate something definitely un-human. Here is an extract from a Dead Sea Scroll known as “The GenesisApocryphon.” It relates to the extraordinary beauty of the child born to Lamech’s wife Bath-Enosh, whom they called Noah. Lamech is beside himself with anxiety, in case his wife has been secretly consorting with a fallen angel. “I thought in my heart that the conception was the work of the Watchers, the pregnancy of the Holy Ones, and that it belonged to the Giants [Nephilim]. My heart was upset by this. . . . Bath-Enosh saw that my face was changed . . . and she mastered her emotions and spoke to me and said, ‘Remember my charms! Our time of love! I swear to you by the Holy One, the King of Heaven that this seed is truly from you, and this conception is truly from you, and this child-bearing is truly from you and from no other, neither from any of the Watchers nor from any of the Sons of Heaven.. . . I speak to you in truth.'”

The Old Testament has many accounts of the appearance of Giants on the earth, which had to be slain by divine decree. Why? Because they were genetically modified beings. The Lord said that Noah was “perfect in his generation”, and the context indicates that his familywas probably the only one left which had not been contaminated genetically. Hence the Flood.

But in Genesis 6:4 we read, “There were Nephilim in the earth in those days, AND ALSO AFTER THAT, . .”It happened again after the Flood, and from the many accounts in the Old Testament, the preponderance of Giants was in the land of Canaan. We read of Og king of Bashan, Goliath and his brothers, and so on.

New Testament records. Jude 6-7 states: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” 2 Peter 2:4 reads, “God spared not the angels who sinned but cast them down to Tartaros, delivering them in chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the ancient world, but saved Noah.” Leaving their “habitation” means descending from a higher dimensional level to that of human form, hence becoming able to procreate like other human men.

One further thought – suppose the fallen angels had the ability to modify animals as well. It would account for many of the grotesque creatures known as dinosaurs, the violence of which can hardly be credited to an original creation by God for people on the earth. Some may say that our chronology is all wrong, and that the “Jurassic reptiles” were all wiped out 75,000,000 years before man appeared. But that theory, although almost universal today, doesn’t answer the finding of giant’s footprints overlaying those of dinosaur’s footprints in the Paluxy riverbed in America. Was Tyrannosaurus Rexa Genetically Modified Animal?

Returning now to the questions posed in paragraph 3 of this article, we must first of all determine what was Satan’s purpose in sending down some of his angels to corrupt the earth in ancient times. We read that it happened when, according to Jubilees 4:15, Mahalalael “named [his son] Jared because during his lifetime the angels of the Lord who were called Watchers descended to earth to teach mankind and to do what is just and upright upon the earth.” (Just and upright???) But Jared’s son was Enoch, and he became a prophet, and it was in his days that the word of the Lord came to him to declare that the promised seed would come in his line. Hence the determination on Satan’s part to destroy the genetic purity of all the earth to prevent the Seed from being born. It must have been known to Satan that the progeny of the fallen angels do not partake of resurrection, as shown by Isaiah in 26:14 “They are Rephaim, [like the Nephilim] they shall not rise, therefore You have visited them and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish.” That which isGenetically Modified can no longer be called part of God’s creation, and therefore it has no place in resurrection.

The same thing happened after the Flood. According to the Biblical Antiquities of Philo, “Reu took Melcha, the daughter of Ruth, to wife, and she begat Serug, and on the day of her delivery she said, ‘Of this child shall be born in the fourth generation one who shall set his dwelling on high, and shall be called perfect, undefiled, and he shall be the father of nations, and his covenant shall not be broken, and his seed shall be multiplied for ever.'” A clear prophecy about Abraham. (Philo 4:11) When Noah divided the earth between his three children, the middle part went to Shem, but Canaan decided he would have the land instead. Hence the fallen angels made for that region, once again to be on hand to defile the line of the Coming Seed. God had wiped out the whole earth at the Flood. He then ordered the extermination of the genetically modified inhabitants in Canaan when Joshua invaded their territory.

If these be the reasons why Satan employed this method in ancient times, we must think again about any possible reason why he should want to infiltrate the earth in our day. No longer can it be to prevent the coming of the Messiah, because that is now past history. Angelic interference would therefore be along quite different lines. What lies before us? We have written recently about the Millennium, and “Sabbatical Typology”, and our chronological nearness to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. The ancient Epistle of Barnabas leaves us in no doubt about the “Week” being a symbol of seven thousand years of human history in which God will accomplish His purposes. Can it be, therefore, that Satan has in the last century been sending down some of his angels to try to prevent the prophecies from being fulfilled, destroying the purity of the Gospel message, knowing that his time is short?

Is the earth being flooded with Genetically Modified Gospels? Here are twelve items to consider.

If Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not recognised as Divine Persons, then the Godhead is being Genetically Modified.

If Jesus is demoted to a mere created being, even of the highest rank, rather than being the Eternal Son of God, then He is being Genetically Modified.

If Creation and the Fall are considered to be myths, legends or symbolic pictures, then Genesis is Genetically Modified.

If the virgin birth is denied, then Jesus was an ordinary man, a Genetically Modified Saviour who could be no saviour at all.

If the Gospel message contains no mention of sin, it is Genetically Modified.

If the Gospel message contains any exclusion clause, it is Genetically Modified.

If people discard moral law in this day of grace, then God’s character is being Genetically Modified.

If salvation is being made to depend on our works, it becomes Genetically Modified.

If crowns are thought to be granted without faith-works, then they are Genetically Modified.

If Christian living contains no mention of taking up one’s cross, discipleship is being Genetically Modified.

If “love” is being turned round to make it serve only my satisfaction, a “bless me gospel”, rather than God’s satisfaction, then AGAPE love is being Genetically Modified.

If one fails to believe that Jesus rose bodily from the dead, then eternal life becomes Genetically Modified.

Perhaps this is only the tip of a Satanic Iceberg. What we have suggested may prove to be a topic requiring much further thought. But we can see that “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is frequently being presented to the world in a genetically modified form of the true gospel. Satan is interfering with the purity of the Gospel as presented in the Scriptures and so people are not getting to know the true Saviour of the world but a genetically modified one. Can anyone be saved except through the true Jesus?

About Arthur Eedle

Arthur was born in 1931, and became a Christian in 1948. At London University he gained a 2nd honours degree in Physics. He went on to get a Teaching Diploma, and throughout his career life taught physics in England, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Coupled with his love of science, he was a keen student of Greek and Hebrew, and gave many lectures on Biblical subjects. Read more